The Alan Parsons Project
Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe

Mercury    832 820-2  (1976)

Rock/Pop
LP, 11   Tracks, 42:35  Length
01 A Dream Within A Dream (Instrumental) Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 04:13
02 The Raven Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 03:57
✷  Alan Parsons, keyboards; Eric Woolfson, keyboards; David Paton, guitar; Ian Bairnson, guitar; Burleigh Drummond, drums; David Pack, guitar; Joe Puerta, bass; Daryl Runswick, bass; Billy Lyall, keyboards; The Alan Parsons Project  ✷ 
03 The Tell-Tale Heart Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 04:38
04 The Cask Of Amontillado Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 04:33
05 (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 04:20
The Fall Of The House Of Usher Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons; Andrew Powell 16:08
06 I  Prelude 07:02
07 II  Arrival 02:39
08 III Intermezzo 01:00
09 IV  Pavane 04:36
10 V  Fall 00:51
11 To One In Paradise Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons 04:46
Music Details
Product Details
Packaging Gatefold
Spars DDD
Sound Stereo
Musicians  &  Credits
Musician Alan Parsons
Bass Joe Puerta
Keyboards Eric Woolfson
Guitar Ian Bairnson
Guitar David Pack
Keyboards Christopher North
Drums Stuart Tosh
Musician The Alan Parsons Project
Producer Alan Parsons
Engineer Alan Parsons
Personal Details
Index # 2427
Owner Dave
Tags Prog Rock, Pop Rock, Symphonic Rock
User Defined
Purchased New
Notes
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. On the album's 1987 remix, the instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards (Welles also narrates "Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude"). The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound. Parsons' expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on "The Tell-Tale Heart." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album's persona intact, while enabling the listener to submerge into its frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album's air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion.